Shutterbug columnist saying CS3 on Mac is only way to fly?

RovingEyePhoto

I read the darnedest thing in Shutterbug mag, just have to share it. I'll preface this by saying I'm a PC user using CS3 for my digital photographic processing, and before what I'm about to quote, thought I was doing OK.

In David B. Brooks' June 09 "Digital Help" column, a questioner identifies himself as a PC user using CS3 for wedding photography processing, and asks: "[what PC upgrades should I] look for in terms of a processor ..., mother board, RAM ..., and video card [to gain greater speed]?" Brooks answers: "One of the problems with PCs is that the companies that made the best performance graphics video cards ... have either gone out of business or ... been bought by AMD, which is now looking shaky in this economy. There were several small pro graphics workstation manufacturers who built great performing machines for the kind of performance you are looking, but [they] apparently did not survive as it is too small a market." Mr. Brooks goes on to say that Apple Macs now use Intel processors that can toggle back and forth between Mac OS and Vista, inferring I guess that a PC user can use them, and that "Vista is NOT recommended for doing color managed photographic processing." He concludes that he owns a Mac Pro, the obvious inference being that Mac's the only way to fly for color managed photographic processing.

Rightly or wrongly, I read Shutterbug religiously, and Mr. Brooks' column is a regular recurring Q&A feature, so I take his comments seriously. So question I pose to dGrinners are: have I and others been fooling ourselves all these years processing our photographic images using CS2/3 on PCs? A related question is: are XP and upcoming Windows-7 operating systems similarly "NOT recommended", same as Vista? And finally the biggie, is Mac OS inherently superior to the degree that, if affordable, I should be shopping for a Mac when my current PC is ready for upgrading?

Pretty strong words by Mr. Brooks, in what I always considered a pretty reliable source, beyond pride of ownership. So not a small issue.

Thanks for taking the time.

ian408

People are allowed their opinions. His is but one.

I'm a happy camper with CS4 and OSX (Mac). I know plenty of people who are PC users and happy as well.

And to be honest, the PC does hold considerable market share and like it or not, there's a reason for that.

So take the reviewers opinion with a grain of salt--that is to say, don't forget you don't have to drink the KoolAid

RovingEyePhoto

ian408 wrote:

People are allowed their opinions. His is but one.

I'm a happy camper with CS4 and OSX (Mac). I know plenty of people who are PC users and happy as well.

And to be honest, the PC does hold considerable market share and like it or not, there's a reason for that.

So take the reviewers opinion with a grain of salt--that is to say, don't forget you don't have to drink the KoolAid

The only thing that stands in my way of totally ignoring Brooks' remarks is that affordability is a big reason why PC's rule the market. Whether glitz or ability, though, Mac has a graphics reputation we've all heard before, and he seems to support. And Shutterbug, at least to me, seems a reliable source. On the other hand, also as said, I though I was doing OK all these years with CS2/3 on a PC. But that's the beauty of ignorance, what one doesn't know doesn't hurt. If there is validity in Brooks' remarks, then now I know (all us PC users know), and hard to ignore if affordability isn't a driving issue.

Like your way of putting it, don't have to drink the KoolAid. But there's always GatorAid, not just water, and without having tried the competition, who's to know? That's why the mags sell, they supposedly have tried the competition, and advertising-wise certainly get more from te 90% market share than the 10%, so no reason there to be wallet-biased.

Thanks for taking the time.

ian408

I read a lot of different topics. Photography, cars, motorcycles, etc.. As much as I like to read equipment reviews, I always take them with a grain of salt. Yes, sometimes things are better--like the jump from CS2 to CS4 and yes sometimes you need to stay current for support. But often times, a review is based on ad revenue (ever wonder why an ad appears right next to a review?)--so I often wonder what the motivation is to write a good review. Is it the advertiser's request and therefore revenue related or is it happenstance that a full page ad just happened to be right next to a four star review?

colourbox

I'm a Mac guy, I mean I really love Macs, and I don't get what he wrote. Many think the choices on the Mac are getting worse, with the glossy-screened laptops, and the removal of a good low-end tower option, now that the cheapest Mac Pro is $2499 and yet can only take 8GB RAM; if you want to be able to put in more RAM you have to get the $3300 8-core model. I don't even get how video cards make the PC a problem, since you get fewer choices from the exact same brands on the Mac (nVidia and ATI).

I have read about some profile problems with Vista but I don't know if they are still a problem. I usually tell my PC friends it's OK to hang onto their platform unless they're fed up with Windows.

Pupator

colourbox wrote:

I'm a Mac guy, I mean I really love Macs, and I don't get what he wrote. Many think the choices on the Mac are getting worse, with the glossy-screened laptops, and the removal of a good low-end tower option, now that the cheapest Mac Pro is $2499 and yet can only take 8GB RAM; if you want to be able to put in more RAM you have to get the $3300 8-core model. I don't even get how video cards make the PC a problem, since you get fewer choices from the exact same brands on the Mac (nVidia and ATI).

I'm a PC guy (with a Mac laptop) and I don't know what he's talking about either. It seems like he's trying to say that your hardware options (video card) are more limited in the PC world than the MAC world? That's just nonsense.

Is he complaining about Vista's built-in color management? That's legit since it's not good, but it's also very easy to control. Oh, and Vista only has to be your PC OS for another 2+ months.

Is he saying that CS3 works better on OSX than on PC? I can't speak to that since I use Lightroom. I do know that Lightroom absolutely screams on my PC.

AlbertZeroK

ian408 wrote:

I read a lot of different topics. Photography, cars, motorcycles, etc.. As much as I like to read equipment reviews, I always take them with a grain of salt. Yes, sometimes things are better--like the jump from CS2 to CS4 and yes sometimes you need to stay current for support. But often times, a review is based on ad revenue (ever wonder why an ad appears right next to a review?)--so I often wonder what the motivation is to write a good review. Is it the advertiser's request and therefore revenue related or is it happenstance that a full page ad just happened to be right next to a four star review?

Unfortunately, this is SO true.

This guy really needs to get a clue though, been a PC guy for a long time and have a mac in the office too. I love both and use both, as far as speed goes though, it's all related to hardware and I'm sorry, but I can build a bigger, badder, meaner and faster machine that will run Windows faster than the fastest mac. If no other reason than Mac tends to be a bit behind power curve releasing the newest hardware solutions that their OS will "Officially" run on.

RovingEyePhoto

Good input all. I will be facing a PC upgrade over the next year or so, and CS3 photo processing is the only machine-stressful thing I do. Assuming I stay with PC, I'll be jumping from XP to Windows-7, so sure there'll be lots of chatter for me to rely on, Windows-7 by then being out 10 months or so. I'll look at the Mac, but sure not going out of my way for a learning curve, so would need a definitive reason to change.

Always find quick assist here at dGrin. Many thanks.

ian408

If you do make the switch to Mac, you'll find tons of help making the switch. You can get it from Apple in the form of training and from many forums, like this one.

Pupator

ian408 wrote:

If you do make the switch to Mac, you'll find tons of help making the switch. You can get it from Apple in the form of training and from many forums, like this one.

Very true!

I don't think any of us are trying to tell you not to switch to Mac, if that's what you want to do. All we're saying is that the rationale of "CS3 runs so much better on a Mac" is utter nonsense.

RovingEyePhoto

Pupator wrote:

Very true!

I don't think any of us are trying to tell you not to switch to Mac, if that's what you want to do. All we're saying is that the rationale of "CS3 runs so much better on a Mac" is utter nonsense.

Got it. As usual, dGrin comes through.

jeffreaux2

It's true......

...and Nikon is far inferior to Canon....


...and the sky is falling.